Welcome to this edition of What about Ukraine?, a newsletter that helps you keep updated about what has been said recently about Ukraine in Ukraine, and in the international media.

Two weeks after Ukraine launched its offensive on Kursk, global attention remains fixed on the Russian region. However, many other developments in and around the country deserve attention. In our translated article of the week, we highlight a story that largely went unnoticed in Ukraine and across Europe: the assassination of Aidos Sadykov, a former Kazakh opposition leader and journalist.

Meanwhile, in Italy, the prosecution by Russian authorities of the Rai news team that crossed the border at Sumy into Russia is the main topic of discussion. The Ukrainian operation has caused controversy in Rome, after Italy's minister of defence criticised the offensive on Russian soil and distanced himself from other European allies. His Spanish counterpart, on the contrary, defended Ukraine's autonomy in deciding when, how and where to use the weapons supplied by the West, stating that it’s not for others to intervene.

Germany is abuzz with talk about arms and funding following the announcement that aid to Ukraine will be slashed in half by 2025. The news was so impactful that the stocks of leading arms manufacturers dropped by five to 7.6 percent. And in Hungary, the Roma population of Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region appears to be the most affected by Viktor Orbán's new policy on aid to Ukrainian refugees. Only refugees from Ukraine coming from areas "directly affected by military operations" will be eligible for assistance from Budapest.

Enjoy reading!

Fermín Torrano
Editor of this week's edition

Two months ago, on 18 June, shooting was heard in the central district of Kyiv. For a city living in a state of war, this noise was less common, but no less disturbing than the sound of drones or missiles. On that day, Aidos Sadykov, a former Kazakh opposition politician in exile and a founder of a popular YouTube channel Bäse, was shot while driving a car near his home in Kyiv.

Sadykov never regained consciousness and died two weeks later in hospital. The investigation quickly announced the names of two probable assassins, who were linked to the Kazakh security services. Both managed to escape Ukraine on the day of shooting, via Moldova and Turkey to their homeland. Kazakhstan refused to extradite the suspects. All further developments in the case have been kept in silence.

In a piece translated by n-ost this week, journalist Rustem Khalilov recounts Sadykov’s story, details what is known about the likely killers and highlights a troubling fact: the murder of an opponent to a Kazakhstan leader in Kyiv remained almost unnoticed by both Ukrainian and international media and society-at-large. The Kazakh authorities have also remained silent. As Irina Petrushova, an editor-in-chief of the Respublika, a Kazakh media outlet, noted:

"There was silence after Ukrainian law enforcement made the suspects' names public. Now we can’t help but sit here and wonder what that was about. I mean, they could have at least said something, just for the sake of decency. We even filed a journalists’ request with the office of the prosecutor general of Kazakhstan, and to a plethora of other agencies, and every single one of those agencies only sent us a non-committal reply that the investigation was ongoing. We can’t even get them to state if the suspect is still under arrest, so maybe he has been walking free for quite a while now."

This piece was originally published by Ukrayinska Pravda, one of the most read and influential Ukrainian independent online media.

Translated by Tetiana Evloeva.

Germany

German aid plans for Ukraine in 2025 are uncertain

Berlin's financial support for Ukraine's military aid in 2025 is uncertain due to budgetary constraints, which has led to internal criticism. Finance minister Christian Lindner stated that new measures could only be undertaken if "financing is secured in the budget plans for this and the coming years." Although Germany committed nearly 7.5 billion euros in 2023, only four billion euros is set aside for 2025, but these funds have already been largely allocated. The government plans to use interest from frozen Russian assets and international loans to support Ukraine, but some politicians argue this could send a negative message during Ukraine's critical military efforts. (tagesschau)

Shares of Rheinmetall (the leading German manufacturer of armoured vehicles and munitions), Hensoldt (a provider of radar systems for air defence) and Renk (a producer of tank transmissions) dropped sharply between five and 7.6 percent after a report suggested that the German government would limit additional military aid to Ukraine to meet budget goals. Despite these dips, all three companies still show strong gains for the year. The German government added: "Berlin will continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary in its defence against the Russian invasion." (Handelsblatt)

Nearly two years after the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines, a European arrest warrant has been issued for a Ukrainian suspect, Volodymyr Z, in connection with the sabotage. Polish authorities confirmed they received the request from Germany at the end of June, but were unable to detain the suspect, who fled to Ukraine at the beginning of July. At that time, the Polish border police had no basis to arrest Volodymyr Z, as he was not yet listed in the database of wanted persons. ZDF reported that Z is believed to be one of the divers involved in the attack. He denies the allegations and was "surprised by the accusation". (ZDF)

Hungary

Roma of Transcarpathia are main victims of Budapest aid cutback

Only refugees from Ukraine who come from areas "directly affected by military operations" will receive state-funded accommodation in Hungary, states a new rule from the Budapest government. This policy applies to both new arrivals and those already living in Hungarian state-funded accommodation, who must reapply to continue receiving support. According to an association for refugees, about a quarter of these applications were successful, but decisions were inconsistent. Sometimes one person in a family has had their application accepted and the other has not, such as a father, but not his child. One seriously ill person's application was accepted, but not their carer's. (24.hu)

By limiting state-funded refugee accommodation, the Hungarian state "will put thousands of refugees from Transcarphatia on the streets", Telex reported. The majority of those affected belong to the Hungarian Roma minority of Ukraine, many of them Ukrainian-Hungarian dual citizens who are neither refugees or asylum seekers in Hungary. However, the previous legislation stated that Hungarian citizens from Ukraine cannot receive less support than asylum seekers. Women with children find it difficult to find work in Transcarpathia, and some would not even have the money to travel home. Most of them have nowhere to go. (Telex)

The vast majority of applications for accommodation by refugees already living in Hungary were rejected, according to the experience of Zsolt Szekeres, legal officer of the human rights NGO the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. Those who came to Hungary after the deadline, and not from specific areas of Ukraine, were not even allowed to apply for accommodation. The Hungarian Helsinki Committee has gone to court on behalf of forty refugees regarding their rejections. (Népszava)  Speaking about the refugees at a press conference, minister in the prime minister’s office Gergely Gulyás said that "four thousand people lived on the Hungarian state's money without taking a job." (Telex)

Italy

Italian journalists to be prosecuted by Russia

Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against Italian public television broadcaster Rai journalists, Stefania Battistini and Simone Traini, for allegedly illegally crossing the Russian border, and for filming in the territory of Sudzha, in the Kursk region (Open). The two journalists have since returned to Italy. The pair were heavily criticised by Russian pro-Government Z-bloggers, and among the first international journalists to enter the city with Ukrainian troops. Their report has sparked outrage in Russia, and has also led to death threats. A diplomatic spat has broken out, with the Russian foreign ministry calling on the Italian ambassador to Moscow Cecilia Piccioni, who cited the journalists’ independence. (Repubblica)

Russian authorities also attacked another team from Italian public broadcaster Rai, accusing their correspondent, Ilario Piagnarelli, of "praising the Nazis". Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that Italian media glorify Ukrainian neo-Nazis, referring to an interview of a few seconds with a Ukrainian soldier who wore a Nazi symbol patch. Piagnerelli expressed regret for unknowingly featuring a soldier wearing a Nazi symbol, but denounced how the Russian pro-invasion propaganda network "found in that image a great anti-Ukrainian propaganda argument" (Corriere). PM Giorgia Meloni’s party argues that "Russia insists on an unacceptable attitude towards Rai", and considers this a threat to the public broadcaster. (Adnkronos)

Ukraine’s military incursion in Russia had produced cracks in Italian politics, revealing uncertainty in the government’s seemingly firm support for Kyiv. Defence minister Guido Crosetto stated that "attacking a sovereign state, on its territory, is wrong and condemnable" and that "there is no exception for anyone". His position shows divergence from Italy’s international partners, the US, Germany and the UK. These actors deemed Ukraine's actions legitimate. As the Domani editorial points out, citing the international law criteria of necessity, immediacy and proportionality, "the theory that Ukraine could not occupy Russian territory in the exercise of its right to self-defence is blatantly inaccurate". (Domani)

Spain

Spanish arms used by Ukraine in Russia not 'our' weapons anymore 

Spanish minister of defence, Margarita Robles, has affirmed Ukraine's right to use the western weapons it receives, including those from Spain, as it deems necessary. "This is a war, and Ukraine will utilise the material it considers essential in each situation," she stated, adding that shipments of 'defensive material' will continue. A critical aspect of the Kursk offensive was the deployment of anti-aircraft batteries to shield the advancing Ukrainian forces, which were one of the main assets delivered by Spain. (EFE)

Cristian Segura, El País correspondent in Ukraine, has reported from Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine launched an offensive two weeks ago. He notes that after over a year on the defensive following last summer's failed counteroffensive, the Ukrainian soldiers' morale has rebounded. "When we received the order to enter Kursk, I thought only one thing: that we were finally going to bring the war to Russia," says Mikhailo, from the 80th Brigade, participating in the operation inside Russian territory. (El País)

A combatant serving in the Ukrainian army, Peter, travelled halfway across Europe by motorcycle to visit the parents of a Spanish soldier who died in Ukraine and to deliver the documentation confirming his death. The soldier, Sergio Antolín, a deserter from the Spanish army, had previously made headlines for enlisting in Ukraine under his real name without Kyiv notifying Spain of his whereabouts. Until now, he had not been officially declared dead. With this documentation, Antolín's family can now claim the 374,000 euros compensation that combatants receive upon death in Ukraine. (El Mundo)

The Europe-Ukraine Desk curated this newsletter. This week's edition has been composed by our team all over Europe: Marika Ikonomu, Kornelia Kiss, Katarina Kukla, Sarah Lou Lepers, Oksana Mamchenkova, Francesco Martino, Antonina Rybka and Fermin Torrano.
Michael Bird was our proofreader. 

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